Hi Sandra, this is a very timely question! There was a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics (July, 2009) conducted by Dr Joseph Barone, which showed a link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and bedwetting in children. The study involved overnight sleep studies with 149 children aged between 5 and 15 years who had previously been diagnosed with sleep apnea. The researchers found that wetting the bed and being overweight were associated with sleep apnea in children (although being overweight and bedwetting were not associated with each other). These findings are in line with previous research published by Associate Professor Lee Brooks (2003) who studied 160 children with sleep apnea. Of these children 41% also wet the bed at night. Doctors believe children with sleep apnea may wet the bed because they do not get a restful sleep and therefore find it more difficult to wake-up in response to a full bladder. Another possibility is that poor breathing patterns at night put excess pressure on children’s bladders through increased urine production. There is also a slightly higher incidence of bedwetting among children diagnosed with ADHD, so this may also be contributing factor.

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

Ask Dr Cathrine a question